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Welcome to the RotoBaller NBA Recap. In this feature, we highlight three fantasy basketball takeaways from last night's slate of NBA games. Saturday featured results we would expect mixed with some interesting fantasy performances. The Milwaukee Bucks remained unbeaten, defeating the Orlando Magic 113 to 91. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 21 points and seven rebounds, but the whole starting lineup is on track to produce top-100 value this season. Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe have a higher ceiling, but Malcolm Brogdon has quietly contributed averages of 12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.7 three-pointers per contest on 49.1 percent shooting from the field. Brogdon is a player I am targeting in trades for all league types and is someone that can contribute on a nightly basis.
The Los Angelas Lakers fell to the San Antonio Spurs on the road by four, moving their record on the year to 2-4. LeBron James was brilliant as always, scoring 35 points on 13-of-21 shooting. However, outside of James, the Lakers were rather pedestrian. The Lakers have struggled to find cohesion as a unit and will need steadier production if they want to compete in the Western Conference this season.
And last but not least, the Cleveland Cavaliers extended their winless streak, falling 119 to 107 at home to the Indiana Pacers to begin the year 0-6. Kevin Love's absence from the lineup due to a foot injury could become a common occurrence going forward. The Cavaliers are in tank mode and won't want to risk their star player if he isn't feeling 100 percent healthy. Cedi Osman continued to struggle, shooting 4-of-13 from the floor and only contributing 10 points with six turnovers. The 23-year-old is now 29.1 percent from the floor over his previous four games and has failed to eclipse 12 points in any of those contests. Despite these struggles, Osman has enough upside that he should be held onto in standard leagues for the time being. There is still plenty more pertinent fantasy information to go around, so without further ado, let's get into our three main takeaways from Saturday, October 27th.
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Rudy Gobert: The Stifle Tower Is Reaching New Heights
In yesterday's RotoBaller NBA Recap, we highlighted how Rudy Gobert was one of our primary targets we would be looking to acquire in a DeAndre Jordan fantasy trade. Unfortunately, the French big man did nothing but increase his trade value on Saturday if you were hoping to obtain him.
With Anthony Davis not available for the New Orleans Pelicans, Gobert feasted in what turned out to be a stylistic mismatch. The 7-foot-1 center posted a season-high 25 points on 11-for-13 shooting while adding in 14 rebounds, one steal and four blocks. The Jazz realized early in the game that the Pelicans had nobody to guard the 2017 blocks leader and consistently ran the same pick-and-roll play, allowing Gobert to covert on nine dunk opportunities.
Gobert's statistics are up almost across the board during his first five games of the season. He has recorded a double-double in every contest and is averaging 16.6 points, 13 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 2.6 blocks on 76.9 percent shooting from the field. While his offensive production will not always be this good, if you drafted Gobert in nine-category leagues at his average draft position of 31.3 on ESPN, Yahoo and CBS leagues, you should be ecstatic with the value Gobert is providing you.
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year has the ability to lead the NBA in field goal percentage, rebounds and blocks, which in itself makes Gobert a huge fantasy commodity. But most impressively, his current averages of 71.9 percent from the line, 16.6 points per game and 1.4 steals could allow Gobert to become a borderline first-round value. He most likely will finish the season closer to back-end top-20 value, but the "Stifle Tower" is someone you should be looking to acquire if you need help in rebounds or blocks. Gobert and his Utah Jazz team will take on DeAndre Jordan and the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. Keep an eye on how the game goes and see if you can figure out a way to swing a deal for the 26-year-old. For those of you that try to obtain players during optimal situations, the Jazz will only play three games per week for the next two weeks. The following two weeks, they will have four contests. I would try to secure him as soon as I could, but you don't have to be in a rush.
Kyrie Irving: Uncle Drew? Is That You?
On Saturday night, Kyrie Irving had his lowest scoring game with at least 20 minutes in his entire NBA career. The Celtics point guard made just 1-of-5 shots from the field, scoring three points to go along with seven rebounds, five assists, one steal, one block and one three-point basket in 23 minutes against the Detroit Pistons.
The biggest concern for Irving has been his early-season usage. Irving averaged 24.4 points a game last season and 25.2 the year prior but has opened the first six games of the year only producing 14.0 points per contest, which is being led by his 5.4 percent decrease in usage from last year. The one positive thing for Irving is that his rebounds are up and his assist totals have remained consistent to his usual production.
Jayson Tatum has unquestionably been Boston's go-to offensive weapon this year, but even he only produced six points on the night in the Celtics 109 to 87 blowout win. Irving may struggle to reach his early-round value this season, but he is a buy-low option that some fantasy owners may let go too cheap. For the Celtics, it is a good sign that Irving is buying into becoming a better team player that isn't solely focused on empty stats, but it will cause your random incidents like this to happen. I rarely advocate extreme low-ball offers, but I would see just how tired the owner is in your league of Kyrie.
Robert Covington: A Coveted Category League Asset
Understanding the settings of your league is the most critical factor to fantasy basketball. Some players will yield value regardless of the league type, but others should be viewed as specialists that see massive increases or decreases when the rules change. Many players fit this role, but maybe none see a more significant contrast in value than Robert Covington does between points and category leagues. The 76ers forward is a do-it-all asset that can generate top-40 production in category leagues that feature eight or nine statistics.
On Saturday night, Covington showed his all-around game against the Charlotte Hornets by posting 18 points, 10 rebounds, two steals, four blocks, and four three-pointers in 36 minutes. The 6-foot-9 forward only managed to record four double-doubles last year, but it is his stat-stuffing production like this on a nightly basis that allows him to be an undervalued commodity.
Six games into the year, Covington is averaging 13.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.7 blocks and is producing 2.8 three-pointers per contest, amazingly diverse production for a player that you can play at small forward on your team. The 27-year-old came into the season with an average draft position of 91.7 on Espn, Yahoo and CBS leagues, although Yahoo leagues had him closer to his actual value at 54th overall.
If I owned him in a points-based league, I would be looking to move him after a performance like this one. He should be viewed as a top-100 option, but there isn't enough upside on a nightly basis for me to be extremely enthused about owning him. However, in a category league, all that can be thrown out the window. He is a unique fantasy commodity that may still be underappreciated by your league members. Any competitive league understands his worth, but Covington's average draft position on ESPN and CBS shows there are still certain leagues where he isn't getting the respect he deserves.
